CoCo needs to fill 44 redevelopment oversight openings

Contra Costa County needs a few good men and women. Actually, it needs way way more than a few.

The Board of Supervisors must fill 44 slots on the oversight boards that will supervise the dismantling of redevelopment agencies within the county.

The task is horrifically complex and the pay is zilch. But the county has no choice.

The state Supreme Court earlier this year upheld legislation that shut down as of Feb. 1 California’s 400 redevelopment agencies including those in Contra Costa County and 16 of its cities. Lawmakers said redevelopment was siphoning off too much property tax money away from schools and other public services.

The law mandates the formation of an oversight board for every former redevelopment agency. The members will decide how to dispose of the assets, pay off the bills and restore money as quickly as possible to cities, schools, fire and other special districts.

Membership ranges from elected officials to former redevelopment agency employees to representatives of the county board of education and the public.

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors’ appointment list is massive:

Two people each to oversight boards in 16 Contra Costa cities.

One person each to represent the Contra Costa Fire District in eight cities, where the district is the largest special district. (The board of supervisors is the district’s governing board.)

Four people to the county’s former redevelopment agency oversight board.

Eligibility requirements vary but most of the open posts call for a member of the public who is not an elected official and require residency in the city or district in which the individual seeks to represent.

The time commitment also varies. Some former redevelopment agencies were larger than others and will take longer to unwind.

Supervisors will directly appoint some of the posts while the full board will select others.

Applications should be returned by noon on March 20 to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 106, County Administration Building, 651 Pine St., Martinez CA 94553.

A Board of Supervisors’ committee will conduct interviews on March 26 at 9 a.m. at the county administration building.

For questions or to request an application form, call 925-335-1900 or visit www.co.contra-costa.ca.us. Residents may also contact county staffer Tim Ewell at 925-335-1036 or timothy.ewell@cao.cccounty.us.